What He's Fighting For
by Bee Sting 77
Summary: Just as Legolas falls in love with a mortal, he must join the fellowship.
1. A Joyous Meeting and a Night Remembered

Hi all - just a little note: Alynya is pronounced Al-len-yah and "Melinde" means "beloved" Disclaimer: I don't own any of the LOTR characters, I just borrow. Enjoy!  
  
Alynya saw him approach. It had been five years since the Prince of Mirkwood rode into Rivendell. Five years since they had shared their first kiss. But now Legolas wasn't here on a friendly visit. He had been called to debate the fate of Middle Earth. That didn't change the feeling of elation she felt as she saw him ride in and dismount.  
  
"Legolas!" She ran down the steps and flung herself into his arms. He laughed and spun her around before setting her back on her feet. A quick dialogue ensued in elvish.  
  
"Look how you've grown!" Legolas glance up and down appreciatively at her form. She wore a clinging lavender dress that showed off her curves quite nicely. Her hair was bound loosely away from her face in her usual haphazard manner. But her smile lit up her face and Legolas saw the sparkle in her eyes.  
  
"It's been years!" She was still smiling but secretly worried that he might have been avoiding her.  
  
"Too long, eh?" He smirked at her before turning her towards the companions he had arrived with. Switching to the Common Tongue her introduced her to Gimli and Boromir. While the dwarf was unimpressed, the man was cordial.  
  
"Never have I seen an elf maiden show such enthusiasm." The Lord of Gondor smiled.  
  
After a glance and Legolas, she replied. "Nor are you likely to." She pulled her hair away from her face to show the rounded tips of her ears.  
  
"You're human!" Boromir's mouth dropped open.  
  
"Yes, my lord." This earned her an approving nod from the dwarf. Apparently a human was a step up from elven kind. As much as she wanted to drag Legolas away and speak to him, she knew how childish that would appear on top of her ecstatic greeting. There would be time this evening. "My lord Elrond already knows of your arrival, but perhaps you would like to speak to him?"  
  
"What I would like to do, is speak with you." Legolas smiled at her and gestured towards the gardens. Nervousness and excitement warred in her stomach, but she obeyed, leaving the others behind.  
  
When they were suitably away from the palace, Legolas began speaking. "Last time I was here, I did something I regret." Immediately Alynya's heart plummeted as her mind raced back to a similar walk five years ago.  
  
She was seventeen and walking with Legolas through the gardens of Rivendell. His visits were few and far between but the interim was filled with longing for Alynya. When she first met him at age seven, she had adored him. He gave her sweets and a ride on his horse. When he had returned at twelve, he had taught her the steps of an elvish dance. At seventeen she knew she was in love with him.  
  
So that night she told him so. She stumbled through her carefully planned speech until, frustrated, she blurted out the words. He had been surprised and started to speak. Alynya had sensed he was trying to let her down easily. Desperate to take this opportunity, she leaned up on her toes and kissed him. He froze while she tried to put all of her emotion into the gesture. She relaxed as she felt one arm snake around her waist while the other hand cupped her face. Too soon though, he pulled away, mumbling apologies in elvish. She tried to reach for him to tell him it was alright, but he backed away.  
  
"You're human."  
  
Alynya stopped in her tracks. He didn't want her. He didn't want her because she wasn't elven kind. Mortified at her actions, she ran back into the palace.  
  
"You made that very clear last time. You have nothing to regret. It was all my doing." She looked down at her feet as they walked along the path. Her heart felt as if it was crumbling away. "I kissed you. You shouldn't feel guilty." She was barely able to keep her voice steady, but tears she could not control slipped down her cheeks.  
  
His hand grabbed for her arm and forced her to stop, but she refused to look up at him. He gently raised her chin with his hand. "Melinde," he whispered softly before his lips brushed hers. He pulled back slightly to look in her eyes. "I regret what I said. I regret I stopped kissing you. I regret I didn't steal you away with me when I returned to Mirkwood." He punctuated his sentences with kisses on her face. "Don't cry, my love."  
  
Aragorn cleared his throat loudly. Legolas glared at his friend while Alynya hid her face in the crook of his neck. "Arwen is asking for you Alynya. Something about your dress for this evening." He waited expectantly.  
  
Alynya lightly kissed the tendon running down the side of Legolas's neck before slipping from his embrace. She nodded to Aragorn as she walked past him on the way to her friends chamber. Aragorn turned back to Legolas. "Are you mad?"  
  
"Do not lecture me Aragorn. You have no ground to stand on."  
  
"No ground? Who knows better that I how hard it is to know that one day you will grow old and die before the eyes of the elf you love? Knowing you will leave them alone for all the ages? I would spare her that pain and guilt Legolas." Legolas stared at the ground clenching his jaw. Aragorn pressed his point even further. "Do you think Elrond will permit this? His daughter AND his ward loving outside of their race? Both condemned to sorrow and suffering, living in fear of a day that must come!" Aragorn took a deep breath to calm himself. "Free her now my friend. Before it's too late."  
  
A/N: Oh no! What will Legolas do? *muah * Send reviews, pretty please. I love them. 


	2. The Quest begins and Rivendell's end

The night's banquet continued. Legolas sulked at his table. He had already turned down Alynya's requests to dance many times. Now she had given up and danced with Pippin while the hobbit stood on one of the long benches. She smiled and laughed as she twirled around the amusing halfling, her brilliant blue dress billowing as she spun. There was always such joy about her. So much life.  
  
As the next song started, Legolas sat up straight. The Lord of Gondor bowed before *his * lady and offered his hand. Alyna curtsied and was swept into his arms as he navigated the dance floor. She smiled up at him, and Boromir held her far too close in the elf's opinion. He stood up, ready to cut in, but Aragorn beat him to it, exchanging partners, and casting Legolas a pointed look before whirling Alynya back into the dance. Furious at the situation, Legolas stormed to his chambers.  
  
%%%%%  
  
A soft knock at his door only irritated Legolas. He rolled over and buried his face in his pillow. He heard the door to his room open and rolled over to tell Aragorn to go away. But his breath caught as he saw Alynya standing in the doorway. She wore a luminescent night gown and she padded across the room in her bare feet. Legolas's mouth went dry.  
  
"You seemed troubled tonight. Is there anything I can do?" She sat next to him on the bed and held his hand. Just having her this close was intoxicating. But he needed to set her straight. They could not continue. He closed his eyes for a moment to steel himself for this speech. As he opened his mouth, he felt her lips, feather light, on his. He responded out of instinct and need, his mouth increasing pressure on hers until she opened and his tongue swept in to rub against hers.  
  
Alynya moaned into his mouth and soon found herself rolled underneath the slender elf. She reached her arms up to wind around his neck, but he caught her hands and looked down at her, a serious expression on his face. "Alynya, we have to stop this." Belying his words, she felt his hard length pressed against her thigh.  
  
"It doesn't feel like you want to stop, my prince." She squirmed beneath him, receiving a groan in return. There were no further protests as Legolas gave in to the woman who had been born to love him.  
  
%%%%%%  
  
The Council sat in judgment the next day. The fate of Middle Earth lay in their hands. The world of men would fall. The elves were leaving these shores. Where, then, would Alynya go? She had no family. Her mother had died when she was just a child. Her father had given service for many years to the elves. And upon his death, Elrond had brought his daughter to live among them. Once the elves went west, Alynya would be alone. And with the shadow of Mordor spreading on the land, Alynya would be lost.  
  
He couldn't let that happen. "The Ring must be destroyed!" Legolas shouted. Should he need to, he would take the Ring himself.  
  
%%%%%%  
  
"When will you return?" Alynya lay with her head upon his chest as he absently stroked her hair.  
  
"I'm not sure. Not until the Ring is destroyed." Her arms tightened around him slightly. He knew she was scared, but it had to be done. If this wasn't worth risking his life for, then what was? He tried as best he could to leave her sweet memories until he returned. And to cement in his mind what he was fighting for.  
  
%%%%%%%  
  
Months had passed with no word of the Fellowship. They had reached Lothlorien weeks ago, and Galadriel had informed Elrond of their progress. But now Alynya waited anxiously for news of her love. Rivendel was emptying. Sorrowful goodbyes had been shed between all, especially Arwen. Since she came to Rivendell, Arwen had been like a mother to her. Elrond kissed her forehead.  
  
"I do not know what to tell you, my little one. There is no safe place for you to go, should Middle Earth fall. Head west if trouble comes. Until then the city is yours." He gathered his belongings and began his departure. 


	3. Alynya finds a way

A/N : Thanks for the reviews!  
  
The city was so quiet. At times, Alynya thought she heard elvish voices, but instead of comfort, the words frightened her. Like ghosts come to taunt her in her lonliness. Is this how Legolas would feel once she was gone from the world? Wandering their home in desolation? She couldn't do that to him. She wouldn't.  
  
Quickly Alynya packed up her belongings and saddled her horse. With a last look at her home, she kicked her horse into a gallop and started off towards Calas Galadon.  
  
%%%%%%  
  
"I know why you have come." Galadriel stretched out her hand towards Alynya as she rose from her curtsy.  
  
"Then you can tell me if it is possible." Alynya was exhausted but she looked at aladriel with hopeful eyes.  
  
"There is a way. But there is a price." Alynya nodded, waiting expectantly. "The creature Gollum held the Ring of Sauron for five hundred years, expanding his life. While Bilbo held it, he lived unnaturally long."  
  
"But the Fellowship has gone to destroy the Ring. It is evil!"  
  
"But not all Rings of Power are." Galadriel raised her hand and displayed Nenya, the Ring of Adamant. "This too, holds the power of life. Should you become its keeper, Alynya, your life would become as long as any elf's."  
  
Alynya stretched out her hand, but then shrank back. "I wont look like Gollum will I?"  
  
Galadriel smiled at her. "No. You will stay just as you are." Alynya took the proferred ring. She held her future in her hand. Legolas's too, perhaps. "I ask only that you wait until he returns, Alynya, before you put it on. Eternity could get very lonely, should he fail in his task."  
  
%%%%%%%  
  
Legolas returned to Rivendell. He felt different. Far older than when he had left. The eternal autumn that had reigned over the city was now broken. Dead leaves littered the halls where his kind had lived for eons past. *Let her be here. Please. * He walked down the hall to her room. His heart beat heavily against his chest as he opened the door.  
  
Empty.  
  
She was gone. Would she have gone to the villages of men? To Mirkwood? To Valinor? Or could orcs have.no, he wouldn't even think that. "Legolas?" A soft voice called behind him. He almost didn't turn around. If it was like the visions of is dreams that disappeared just before dawn, he wouldn't be able to bear it. He took a deep breath and dared to hope. Slowly he turned around.  
  
There she stood. Thinner than before. Who knew how long she had been fending for herself? She was the most beautiful thing he could have imagined. She was here.  
  
Before he could say anything, she launched herself into his arms, weeping. "I never gave up hope, but I was so scared." She pressed kisses to his face and neck as he held her close.  
  
"I promise I'll not leave your side again. For the rest of your days, I'll not leave you." Alynya pulled back to look at him, tears still pouring from her eyes. She raised her hand to his lips to silence him. She grasped his hand and pulled him along behind her down the hall. He recognized her destination now. She was sleeping in his chamber, the one they had shared before he left. She opened a drawer in the nightstand as he surveyed the room. She had brought in some of Arwen's things as well as a small arsonal stacked against the wall to defend herself should the need arise.  
  
Turning she slipped on a ring. Not any ring, the Ring of Adamant. His eyebrows rose. She had found a way.  
  
Without a word, she walked to him and melted into his embrace. He held her close. "Where shall we spend eternity, Melinde?"  
  
THE END  
  
A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed. I really appreciate it. Check out some of my other stories, soon to be added! 


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